Open Tunings discussion - I have the woody Guthrie flirting with open tunings

[ParlourMan]

Hey,

 

I'm venturing down the open tunings road at the minute, for once I find the usual resources to be a bit of a let down, many many samples/explanations/tutorials of the same songs, or same type of songs.

 

I'm not necessarily playing slide too much so I thought I would ask here for folk to add some fingerstyle songs, modern and the classics which are not the usual Keef riffs or the usual 4-5 Black Crowes songs that show up on lists.

 

I'm looking for stuff like the Beatles, some modern tracks, current popular songs as well as older country blues such as Vestapol etc...

 

Looking on youtube I found a couple of Blackbird in open G tutorials which look nice, I found one in open D too, loosely based on a Colin Linden arrangement, very cool.

 

Also for people using open tuning, which do you find the most 'general purpose' of the open tunings? As in the most usable for faking your way through any song?

 

Thanks in advance.

regards ________

[larryp58]

I love Drop D tuning (D-A-D-G-B-D). Gives you a nice "rumbling" bottom end sound. I use this tuning on songs like "Long-haired Country Boy" by Charlie Daniels, "A Country-boy Can Survive" by Hank Jr., "Ohio" and "Don't Let It Bring You Down" by Neil Young. The open tunings really give a guitar a whole new sound and ambiance.

[zombywoof]

I am in open tuning about 70% of the time - but then again I play da' bluz.

 

Every so often though I sit in with a singer and we do some versions of old standards in open tunings. I pretty much just work off of three finger chords so nothing too fancy. It is all in the right hand.

 

The Beatles - "Things We Said Today" in Open Gm tuning (D G D G Bflat D)

 

Supremes/Vanilla Fudge - "You Keep Me Hanging On." I am not sure what you call this tuning but just tune the B string to A.

 

Skip James/Cream - "I'm So Glad" - Skip played it in Open Dm but Open D will also work.

 

Rolling Stones - "Prodigal Son." I have been playing this one for as long as I can remember. Open D tuning.

 

Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Born on the Bayou." I play this with almost a shuffle feel in Open E but Open D, of course, will also work.

[Mojorule]

Not really hot on open tunings, but always got more out of open G than open E for slide. Wouldn't dare touch my Woodster with any metal tubes though, especially given how cack-handed I am when I attempt slide - even after hours of practice. The cack-handedness affects musical results as well as the material well-being of my guitars, so I don't think it would be worth pursuing slide on my best instruments. But... I wonder whether the open G might not be effective for a spot of non-slide blues fingerpicking too? Improvise with scales as well as chords, to avoid the Keef effect? I think I might give it a try, but I need some new strings first. I've just broken my first string since opening the box from Thomann - not bad going, and the instrument still sounds fantastic.

 

Must confess that I've mainly stuck to standard with the Woody, though early on I accidentally tuned it down a half-step and attribute a lot of my early enjoyment to this tuning. Pleased to say that the guitar now sounds equally good at concert pitch, albeit different. Nonetheless a couple of months ago I had a lot of fun tuned to DADGAD. I'd never really given folky tunings much of a go before, but the Woody held up splendidly when tuned down. All the way up the neck. Better than my cheapo Washburn which also spent much of the same time in DADGAD. Of course quality counts here, but the Washer is a long-scale dread, and by all accounts ought to be mechanically happier when tuned down. Also its intonation up the neck isn't bad for a cheapie. Still the Woody was the one which didn't buzz and didn't go out of tune beyond the tenth fret... Try picking out 'Send in the Clowns' in DADGAD. I found that worked really nicely.

[Rambler]

Paul Brady plays largely out of tunings. Lakes of Ponchatarain is in open D; his signature Luck of the Draw (I think) is double drop D

 

Jorma Kaukonen's Water Song shows the range of possibilities for open G

[BluesKing777]

I came at open tunings from the other direction than you asked about. I wanted to learn slide in G and D open.

When I could play the slide a bit (40000 years later), I wanted to fill the gaps on the fretboard for the tunings - still at it.

Many ways to go about this. Stefan Grossman DVDs - one called funnily enough 'Open Tunings". Plenty of books around, though they tend to jump around the tunings a bit.

For me, I like to have a guitar in G Tuning (my LG0) ready to go as the inspiration hits, and one in D Tuning (my LG1) for the same. Thes are easily altered to Gm tuning and Dm tuning respectively.

Stefan also has some Celtic guitar dvds and books. One Celtic book I have has tunes in Dropped D, Open C and Dadgad. Kiss the Blarney Stone fa loock....

 

 

 

BluesKing777.